


Thank Jackson for me

by IdontlikeIobsess



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings, Oblivious Stiles, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 09:31:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3351698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdontlikeIobsess/pseuds/IdontlikeIobsess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek keeps asking the wrong kind of questions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thank Jackson for me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CabbageOriley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CabbageOriley/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this fic! I tried to come up with something a little less silly but apparently my mind can only think about high-school AUs right now.
> 
> Written for Valentines Day Sterek edition.

“He’s too pretty, I can’t look at him!”

Scott gives Stiles a pointed look. “That doesn’t even make sense. Why wouldn’t you look at him if you think he’s pretty?” he asks, turning towards Derek Hale and his table in the school cafeteria. He’s talking with his friends, their heads close together over their trays.

“Because if I look at him I’ll be reminded how he’s so out of my league, it’s not even funny!” Stiles says. “What are you doing? Don’t look at him, don’t—oh, fuck! He saw us looking at him! Scott, are you insane? You weren’t exactly sub—oh, no! Oh my god, he’s coming here! Why is he coming here? He’s going to kill us, he’s going to—”

“Shut up,” Scott hisses. “Act casual.”

“Casual?” Stiles says. His palms are clammy and his voice sounds strangled, and he’s sure Derek Hale can see the little drops of sweat on his forehead. It’s like the whole cafeteria is moving in slow-motion, and Derek is the protagonist of the latest action movie, walking through the crowd in all his glory and hotness. Scott starts a conversation that sounds fake even to Stiles’ desperate ears, and they both try to hide their faces into their trays, playing with their forks.

Someone clears his voice just beside Stiles’ seat, and when he looks up Derek is glaring at them, tugging on his shirt and looking more nervous than Stiles has ever seen him. Not that he and Derek are friends, but every time Stiles sees him in the hallways, Derek _radiates_ coolness. On the other side of the cafeteria, Boyd and Lahey are smirking their way while Jackson –who’s usually cocky and spends half of his time mocking Stiles –looks a little pale.

“H-Hi, Derek,” Stiles stutters. As soon as the words leave his mouth, he has to resist the urge to smash his face in his lunch. He has just admitted that he knows Derek’s name, and now everyone will know that Stiles has the biggest crush on him, that the best part of Stiles’ day is seeing Derek in his basketball shorts and—

“Stilinski,” Derek nods at him. Then, he turns his head to Scott. “McCall.”

“Anything we can help you with?” Scott asks.

 _Bless Scott_ , Stiles thinks. Stiles is sure he wouldn’t be able to speak in his current condition because Derek has silenced him for good. Stiles fakes a lot of interest in his half-empty tray and tries not to look at Derek.

“Yes, actually,” Derek says. He hesitates for a moment before he asks a question Stiles would have never expected. “Is Lydia Martin single?” Stiles is still not looking at him, but Derek’s voice sounds annoyed and detached, like he would rather throw a thousand dollars in the river than talk to Scott and Stiles.

“Why do you think we could know such a thing?” Scott asks.

Derek huffs. “ _He_ sits next to her in Chemistry,” he explains. Stiles figures that _he_ is him, and he feels strangely offended by Derek’s tone. Stiles has been lusting after him for years, the least he could do is call him by his name. He lifts his head and swallows when he meets Derek’s eyes. How can an 18 years old be so beautiful? Stiles still has to grow into himself and there’s no sign of a beard on his chin, but Derek looks like a photo-shopped model on a magazine cover and he has a delicious stubble.

“I think you choose the wrong people to ask your question,” Stiles says, trying to keep the annoyance out of his tone.

Derek rolls his eyes and looks like he’s one second from walking away. “I can’t ask _her_. She’ll think I’m a loser.”

“Look, we don’t really know, okay?” Scott says. “We don’t talk about _that_ with her, but I think she might be single. She spent last Saturday night with Erica and Allison, so she obviously didn’t have anything better to do.”

“Okay. Thank you, I guess,” Derek says, shooting them a final glance before turning his back and heading to his friends.

“You guess?” Stiles says. Derek’s already gone, but he still feels like he has to make a point. “We give him information about Lydia’s love life and he can’t even say a proper thank you?”

“I’m sorry,” Scott says. “I knew you were into him, buddy.”

“Don’t worry,” Stiles sighs. “Who needs a date, right? I can still fully enjoy my life as a single guy.”

“Maybe you could ask Mason out? He’s a really nice guy, and—”

Stiles tunes Scott out and looks at the table where Derek is talking with his friends. He’s not interested in Mason, or in anybody else. Not when the only person he’s interested in talked to him for the first time to ask him about Lydia Martin.

 

*

 

Chemistry classes become a nightmare. Now that Stiles knows that Derek’s occasional, confused, almost angry, adorable, infuriating, breath-taking glances are not directed at him but at Lydia, he just wants to run away and hide somewhere safe. Next to him, Lydia is talking about her outfit for Valentines’ Day, and Stiles’ heart sinks.

“Did someone ask you out?” he asks. Damn, Derek was quick.

“Not yet,” Lydia says. “But I’m sure someone will by the end of the week, so why not plan my outfit already? I mean, the whole school knows my last boyfriend decided he wanted to be a volunteer in Africa and that I need a _distraction_.”

“I-I didn’t know that.”

“You know now,” Lydia says. “What are _you_ doing for Valentine's Day?”

Stiles catches Derek looking at them from the other side of the classroom and tries to hide behind Lydia. “Oh, you know, the usual. I think I’ll be in front of the TV the whole day, probably play some videogames. I don’t believe in this stupid holiday, anyway. Why would I want to celebrate love on a particular day? I don’t need flowers or chocolates or—I don’t need anything, that’s all.”

Lydia looks away from her textbook for just one second and smiles at him. “Whatever you say, Stiles.”

 

*

 

Stiles is studying in the library when someone slumps on the chair in front of his. When he looks up, Derek Hale is grabbing a book and an highlighter from his backpack and he’s taking up half the table with his jacket and his pointless stuff. When Derek clears his voice, Stiles decides to ignore him and focuses on solving his math exercises, scribbling furiously on the paper. Derek clears his voice again and Stiles keeps writing. He has to do his homework, he can’t waste his time with Derek Hale. When Derek clears his voice for the third time, Stiles looks up from and tries to look annoyed. “Would you stop? This is a library.”

“Well, thank you for pointing it out. I hadn’t noticed,” Derek says. He highlights some words on his textbook and then stops, looking at Stiles again. “Can I ask you a question?”

Stiles stops writing and his head shoots up without his permission. Oh god, has Derek changed his mind about Lydia? Does he want to ask _Stiles_ out?

“Sure,” Stiles says, hopeful.

Derek smiles, giving him an almost shy look. “Does Lydia like flowers?”

“What?” Stiles splutters. “Who do you think I am? Match.com?”

He tries to stand up and grab his book all at once, but he stumbles on his own backpack and falls on his ass before Derek can even say one word. He gets on his feet again and throws his book inside the backpack without looking up. He’s about to walk away when Derek stops him with a hand on his arm.

“Look, I just needed to know. It’s important,” Derek says. “I didn’t mean to upset you. You can stay here, I’ll leave.”

All of a sudden, Stiles feels guilty. Derek is just a guy who’s trying to score a date, and even if Stiles has a crush on him he has no right to stop Derek and Lydia from having a perfect life together. With a lot of beautiful, smart children and a huge house on the edge of the woods. He enjoys Derek’s touch for a second more before he steps away and falls on his chair again. “No, you can stay. Sorry, I was just nervous about this test I have next week, you know?”

Derek nods and smiles a little. “I’m pretty good at Math, maybe I could help you?”

“That’d be great,” Stiles says. “Look, I don’t really know about the type of flowers Lydia likes, but I could ask. We sit together in Chemistry, she’s obviously my BFF.”

Derek’s eyes light up and crinkle, and he has to put one hand on his mouth not to laugh. “Thank you, Stiles,” he says.

Stiles shrugs, looking down at the still unsolved exercises. “So, what about this one?” he asks.

 

*

 

 _What’s your favourite flower?_ , Stiles texts.

 ** _Why do you want to know?_** , Lydia responds.

_Someone wants to ask you out and he wants your date to be perfect._

**_I knew it._ **

**_Orange tulips, by the way._ **

**_And tell him flowers won’t be enough to woo me._ **

****

*

 

“Does Lydia like going to the movies?” Derek asks.

Stiles’ heart sinks. God, Derek must really like Lydia if he keeps asking Stiles all those questions to plan their perfect date.

“Dude, she hates the movies. She only likes one film, and it’s the Notebook,” Stiles says. “Maybe you could rent it? Look, she loves Valentine’s Day. She already has an outfit planned. I don’t think she’ll like spending the whole day inside a theatre.”

Derek nods and fishes a piece of paper from his pocket. “What about ice-skating?”

“Oh my god, do you have a list?”Stiles asks.

Derek ignores him and crosses out _dinner and movie_ with a pen. “Please, Stiles, just answer my question. So, what about ice-skating?”

 

 

*

 

Derek saves Stiles from the pouring rain that has stopped his Jeep from working properly. He opens the Camaro’s door and Stiles throws himself inside, drenching the car’s seat.

“Sorry, sorry,” Stiles says. “My car broke and my phone died so I didn’t know how to call my Dad. You’re a life saver, Derek. I swear I won’t ruin your car, I—”

“God, Stiles, breathe,” Derek says. “You’re not ruining my car, it’s just water.”

A comfortable silence falls between them as Derek drives away from the school. Stiles listens to the song playing on the radio until Derek turns down the volume and shoots a look at Stiles.

“So, do you think wearing a tie would be a good idea?”

“Oh my god!”

 

*

 

“Are you following me?” Stiles asks when Derek corners him while he’s trying to find his keys and open the Jeep in the school’s parking lot.

“I haven’t seen you today,” Derek says.

“Oh, right,” Stiles says. “Orange tulips are Lydia’s favorite flowers, but she also said they won’t be enough to woo her. So, I don’t know, maybe try chocolate? A teddy bear? I’m not really an expert, my knowledge comes from rom-coms and Scott.”

“Right,” Derek says. “What would you prefer in this case? Like, how would your perfect Valentines’ Day be like?”

“I don’t really believe in V-Day,” Stiles explains. “If I had a special person I’ll try to make them happy every day, you know? I don’t really see the point in spending a whole day doing cheesy things together.”

“I don’t believe you,” Derek says. “Every person who doesn’t have a date for Valentines’ Day says your exact same thing. But the truth is they really want someone to spent the day with.”

“Well, I’m an exception,” Stiles says.

“I can’t argue with that,” Derek says, smiling. He looks surprised for a second but then his face turns serious again. “So, what about the date? If you had to choose, what would you do?”, he insists. Derek step closer to him and plays with the hem of his shirt, looking at Stiles right in the eyes.

“Fine,” Stiles huffs. “I think—I don’t really know, but I think I wouldn’t do something too excessive, you know? I’ll be fine with spending the day somewhere nice and talk, I think. It could be a perfect occasion to get to know each other. Maybe I’d try to find somewhere private to make out for later. Like, there’s this perfect place I’ve always wanted to—”

Stiles stops mid-sentence when he sees Derek’s smug look. He tries to take back all he has just said, but Derek stops him with one finger on his mouth. “Yeah, your hatred for Valentines’ Day is so obvious, I don’t know how I missed it.”

“I got carried away, okay?” Stiles tries. “Stop looking like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you know me,” Stiles says. He unlocks his car and jumps in, leaving a confused Derek in the parking lot.

 

*

 

“Scott’s taking me ice skating!” Kira chirps the next day. She drops a light kiss on Scott’s nose and then looks at the rest of the table. “Then we’re going to have dinner together at that new restaurant in town. What are you guys doing?”

“Boyd asked me out,” Erica sighs, looking at the table where Boyd is sitting with Derek. “He refused to tell what we’re doing though. He wants it to be a surprise.”

“I’m waiting for someone to ask me out,” Lydia says. “I have this beautiful dress that it’s just perfect for a date.”

Stiles wants to bang his head on the table. Why everyone in his group of friends has to be so happy and in love and positive about life? Stiles still feels a little ashamed about what he said to Derek in the parking lot, and he’s trying not to look at his table every five seconds.

 

 

“We can spend V-Day together, Stiles,” Allison says later that day, when they’re heading to English. “I don’t think Isaac will ever ask me out.”

“He looks at you all the time,” Stiles says. “I’d be flattered to spend the day with you, but I’m sure you’ll find something better to do.”

Someone taps on Allison’s shoulder and they both stop and turn. Isaac Lahey is looking at them nervously, playing with the collar of his shirt. He looks a bit pale, but he clears his throat and looks at Allison, who’s already smiling back at him. Stiles steps away from his friend and tries to make his way to class, but someone stops him with a strong arm.

“I’m sorry for what I said yesterday,” Derek says. He pushes Stiles inside the bathrooms and lets him go only when he’s sure Stiles can’t run away from him. “I didn’t mean to make you angry,” he says. He looks angry at himself and he grits his teeth before he speaks again. “You’re the last person I would make angry.”

“What? Look, Derek, I have to go to class. I asked Lydia about her favorite food, okay? She loves Italian but she can’t stand Mexican. Stay away from spicy food and you’ll be okay.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Derek says. “I—”

“I don’t understand?” Stiles asks. “What, exactly? That you’ve been using me to plan your perfect date with Lydia? That you didn’t look at me once before you needed your precious answers? What, exactly, I don’t understand?”

“You don’t understand that I don’t care about Lydia!” Derek yells. There’s a moment of silence between them and then the bell rings, but they both ignore it.

“Okay, you’re crazy.”

Derek shakes his head. “I’ve been asking you those questions about Lydia because Jackson wants to know! He wants to ask her out for Valentines’ Day! I don’t care about her, I don’t—I don’t like her. I like you, okay?” he says. “Just you.”

Stiles is stunned. All he can think about is Jackson making heart eyes at Lydia every time they passed him in the hallways, about the way Jackson has been strangely nice to him since Stiles became friends with Lydia. “I still don’t understand. Why were _you_ asking the questions?”

“Jackson becomes painfully shy when it comes to Lydia. He’s embarrassing, I’m not kidding. So I said I would have asked around for him, and obviously I only asked you because I wanted to know you and ask you out. Stiles, I don’t care about Valentines’ Day, either. I just want a chance, okay? We can go out whenever you want, we can do—”

Stiles shuts him up with a kiss. He links his hands around Derek’s neck and deepens the kiss, licking inside Derek’s mouth and blushing when Derek seems as eager as he is. Stiles feels one strong hand on his back and another on his ass, squeezing lightly. Stiles hums and breaks the kiss, hiding his face into Derek’s neck.

“You’re serious?”

“Stiles, I thought I was being obvious when I spent every Chemistry class staring at you!”

“I thought you were looking at Lydia,” Stiles says. “And you’re not obvious, Derek. How was I supposed to know you’re into me when you go around asking questions about her?”

“I’m sorry.”

Stiles steps away from him and smiles. “Please, don’t. I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it up to me.”

 

*

 

 ** _I knew Jackson would have asked me out_** , Lydia texts him two days later. **_He planned the perfect date_** , **_Stiles! I think I might give him a chance._**

**_What did YOU do tonight?_ **

Stiles reads the text , puts his phone in his pocket and lays back down, twining his fingers behind his head. “It seems like Jackson did good tonight,” Stiles says, grabbing Derek’s hand and lacing their fingers together.

“It was impossible to do wrong after all I did for him,” Derek grumbles. He squeezes Stiles’ hand and turns on his side, propping himself up on his elbow to look down at him. Derek leans down and noses at Stiles’ neck, biting gently on his earlobe. He sniffs behind his ear and then buries his face in Stiles’ hair, mumbling words Stiles can’t really understand.

“Hey, come here,” Stiles says, pulling Derek down by his shirt to kiss him. “I knew this place was perfect.”

“Stiles, we’re on your roof.”

“I know! Look how many stars tonight!” Stiles says, pulling the blanket up to cover them.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Not when you’re right beside me,” Stiles jokes, shuffling closer to Derek.

Derek rolls his eyes, but kisses Stiles again, prodding Stiles’ mouth open and carding his hands through his hair. He swallows every noise Stiles makes, every word he mutters between each kiss.

“I still think we could be more comfortable inside, though,” Stiles says. He grabs Derek’s hands and pushes him through the window, laughing when Derek pulls him down with him on the mattress.

 

*

 

 _I’ll tell you everything tomorrow_ , Stiles texts Lydia later that night, right after Derek has barely managed to jump out of the window when the sheriff’s car had pulled on the driveway. _For now, thank Jackson for me_.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
